Once Starbucks moves away from its 鈥楾hird Place鈥� model, what does it have left to offer?
Sep 24, 2022, 7:37 AM | Updated: 8:20 am
Earlier in September, Starbucks announced in front of shareholders its plan to move towards convenience and away from its 鈥淭hird Place鈥� business model 鈥� Howard Schultz鈥檚 idea that Starbucks locations are a community space between work and home.
, the company will emphasize drive-thru, pick-up, and delivery options among new store openings within the next two years, with only 2% of new openings being cafe-style stores.
鈥淚 don’t think this is going to be a good thing for Starbucks, because I think one of the reasons people go there in the first place is because it was a meeting place,鈥� host Ursula Reutin said.
鈥淚’m not just going for the coffee. I am going for the partners that work there. I love the community aspect of Starbucks,鈥� host Gee Scott agreed.
Starbucks closes 5 Seattle locations, more across the nation, citing increased crime
The Seattle Times report notes that Starbucks plans to open some 2,000 locations in the U.S. over the next three years, a high number that is subsidized by convenience-first store openings 鈥� 35% will be drive-thrus, 14% pick-up only, and 5% delivery.
鈥淪tarbucks has been out gamed in their third place idea,鈥� producer Andrew 鈥淐hef鈥� Lanier noted.
鈥淏ut it is a place with generally a very clean bathroom. You know what you’re getting gonna get in terms of atmosphere and environment. It’s a great place for a quick meeting. If you take that away, what does Starbucks have left?鈥�
Listen to the Gee and Ursula Show weekday mornings from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
